Mathieu Horras, CEO of ASPIVIX, has a bold vision for his company - “Innovate in women’s care to make a positive impact daily”

With 15 years of experience working for global corporations internationally - of which 8 years were dedicated to the medical device industry in Product Development and Marketing - Mr. Horras´ diverse background has been shaped by various industries, geographies and cultures. These unique experiences have allowed him to view and evaluate situations through various lenses and be constantly looking for innovative yet pragmatic solutions.

What’s ASPIVIX and What Problems It’s Solving?

For decades and even centuries, women have experienced discomfort and even pain gynaecological procedures. The discomfort is mainly attributed to the use of the Tenaculum – a commonly used instrument that ends in sharp, inward-pointing hooks.

The Tenaculum serves to grasp, pull, and stabilise the cervix. Not only the instrument is proven to be painful and traumatic but it also often leads to lesions and bleeding. As a result, millions of women associate gynaecological procedures with pain, stress, and discomfort.

ASPIVIX decided to improve women’s experience and created CAREVIX™. This innovative instrument allows the cervix to be handled more gently for all procedures in gynaecology that require access to the Uterus. 

CAREVIX™ is designed to improve women’s care in several ways:

1. Eliminates pain because it uses vacuum to handle the cervix
2. Prevents bleeding of the cervix due to its non-traumatic design
3. Reduces patients´ stress associated with the fear of the Tenaculum
4. Protects women from cross-infection because the instrument is single-use arriving in individual sterile packaging

Additionally, CAREVIX™ also helps practitioners who save valuable time by avoiding anaesthesia and the need to stop bleeding from the cervix.

How Was ASPIVIX Created?

The idea sprouted when Dr. David Finci, an experienced Gynaecologist who practices in Geneva, started to become increasingly uncomfortable when having to use the Tenaculum to examine his patients. Dr. David Finci and his brother, Julien Finci, an EPFL engineer and project leader in new technology development for medical devices, decided to investigate potential alternatives to the instrument.

After months of research, they built their first prototype. In 2015 they joined forces with Mathieu Horras and together co-founded ASPIVIX with an exciting mission:

“Improving gynaecology with gentler and more modern procedures” for millions of women, bearing the pain of obsolete practices every year.

When Will the Product be Available?

ASPIVIX is currently developing its first product CAREVIX™, which will be launched in 2020 in the European market.

It’s highly anticipated by hundreds of thousands of women: “It’s a shame that your system is not available yet, but it’s comforting to know someone cares about us and wants to bring changes.”

InvestHorizon, along with other VCs and supporters, has been instrumental in helping ASPIVIX move from a mere idea to a sustainable company with very ambitious plans.